GloFish® has bred a select group of fish to fluoresce under black lights but also look like they are glowing to some extent under regular daylight bulbs or actinic bulbs. This select group of fish are bred with this fluorescent color, and they reproduce naturally, rather than being injected or dyed. Typically, GloFish® uses Zebra Danios, and they have come out with some interestingly named (and colored) fish, like Galatic Purple or Cosmic Blue. However, GloFish® recently bred an Electric Green Tetra to add to their list of fluorescent fish.

The GloFish® Electric Green Tetra, scientific name Gymnocorymbus ternetzi, is a variation of the White Skirt Tetra. A certain gene from the White Skirts was cultivated during selective breeding in order to produce the Electric Green color in the fluorescent Tetra. The Electric Green Tetra is one of othe hardier Tetras, and it is a peaceful omnivore that prefers to school. The native Region for this type of Tetra is South America, but the GloFish ® Electric Green Tetra does not appear in the wild. If you decide to add this fish to your aquarium, make sure there is some swimming space, as well as some cover along the perimeter of the aquarium. It is not hard to order groups of at least three Electric Green Tetras, as they are approximately 2 – 3 inches long when full grown. In regards to water conditions, the Electric Greens prefer a softer, acidic water, but most adapt well to a wide range of water condition parameters.

comments (47)

Hi Nicholas – The personalities of the Zebra Danio-based GloFish are just like Zebra Danios. Only the colors have been modified in these fish, not the personalities or anything else about them. It is good to note that Zebra Danio GloFish are easily killed by anything that is aggressive, but the same thing occurs with regular Zebra Danios. Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Hi T – Sorry not to see your post earlier! If you can call our Customer Service at 800-737-3868 and speak with our Live Deliveries Manager, John, he will be able to help you. There are so many factors as to why a fish might not be eating that it is better to talk to someone on the phone, rather than through comments. Good luck!

Hi Michaela – I would suggest calling our Customer Service at 800-737-3868 to speak with our Fish Tech, Don. There are so many scenarios that could be occurring, it is something that is easier to discuss on the phone. I would definitely suggest testing your water, either with an at-home testing kit or taking a vial of water to your local aquarium store to have them check. Good luck!

My friend and i are doing a project for aquatic science. We have two electric green tetras in a ten gallon tank. how do you tell if they are male or female? also how many eggs to they have at one time? Thanks!

I just recently added fish to a 20 gallon tank. The total fish added was 6 rosy barbs who used to be mild, 6 neon tetras, 4 of these electric green tetras, a boesemani rainbow,a redtail shark, and a golden algae eater. I woke up the next day to find 4 rosy, 1 neon tetra, one green tetra, the shark, the boesemani, and the algae eater left alive. What went down in my sleep. I made sure the water conditions were best for such a variety.

Last Monday I bought an electric green tetra, a bala shark, a red dwarf gourami, & 2 Chinese algae eaters for my 55 gallon tank. A few days later, I found one of my algae eaters dead, & it appeared it had been eaten on. Last night, I noticed my red dwarf gourami acting strange; it looked like it was dying. Then I noticed its fins had been eaten. By this afternoon he was dead… Now, I find that the electric green tetra is chasing my bala shark around the tank! I'm sure it killed the other two fish!!! I thought they were supposed to be non-aggressive! What gives???

Selena, tetras are supposed to be community fish. They appreciate some cover, as well as at least 3 or 4 of them in one tank. If your bala shark is smaller than your tetra, it could decide to chase it around. Tetras won't bother fish that are bigger, but they could chase smaller fish. Keeping at least 3 tetras should prevent them from bullying smaller fish.

Hi Bobby – The GloFish Tetras are a fluorescing variation of the White Skirt Tetras, which are a farm-raised color morph of the wild Black Skirt Tetra. Somewhere down the line, there is a relation to the Black Skirt Tetra.

Hi Bobby – Sorry not to respond earlier. I was out of the office and didn't see your message.

If your problem has to do with your fish, I would suggest going to the place where you bought the fish. They should know the most about the fish because they took care of it before you purchased it. If it is about behavior, environment, etc, I might be able to help. We have a Live Deliveries Manager on staff, and we usually have a Fish Tech but he is out at the moment.

One of my electric green tetras is doing a lot of floating and tilting in the tank. I have had them for about a year with no problems. This behavior has not been observed in the past. Do I have a sick tetra or is this normal? Thanks Retta

Hi Retta – There are two possibilities to your situation. The first is that your fish has a problem with its swim bladder. It can be fine and live like that, or it may die. The other possibility is that it is in the process of passing away, and there isn't much you can do for it. Basically, you have to wait and see. Just take care of your tank like normal, but watch if that fish does pass – you will want to remove it from your tank as soon as you see that so your water quality doesn't get affected.

Thanks so much Kristen,Your response about my "electric green Tetra", was very helpful. He's hanging in there. (Eating, floating, and tilting) Even though I understand, it saddens me to see him going through this cycle of life. Thanks again, Retta

Hi Kristen,I wanted to give you an update on my tetra. He's still hanging in there. (Tilting, floating, and eating) He seems to be moving faster these days. I think you were correct about the bladder disorder. He darts around with speed at feeding time; so I know he has strength to move quickly when needed. His movement's just appear so unorthodox and life-threatening. Thought you would like to hear an update, and thanks again, Retta 🙂

Glofish are a zebra danio, and as such, they will always be much better off in schools. “The more the merrier,” is true with these. Will they be ok with just 2 in the aquarium? Yes, they will probably be ok, but they may not be as brave without more to keep them company.

Hi Brian – While pancakes are not ideal food for tetras, you will just have to watch and wait to see what happens. Some fish could be fine, while others may have some issues. Just keep an eye on your fish, the water quality, etc, and try to make sure your nephew doesn't stick other items in your tank in the future.

I sware the fish has changed color. My fish have set up in each corner of my fishtank. They nip at any other fish that comes in their space. Is there any way to stop this? The one that changed color is near the orange fish and has once again changed color. It is yellowish/orange now.(defiantly not pink) It was pink when I bought the fish.

Hi Blayne – It appears your fish just wants to be by the filter intake. Unfortunately, you are just going to have to let your fish figure it out. In terms of why he is swimming funny, your fish could have been hurt in some manner, but we aren't able to help with that, as we can't see the fish.

Hi. I bought 4 glofish about 2 years ago. 3 of the 4 died a year after we bought them. My pink one is still doing very well but i was curious what there life expectancy is and will my pink one be ok by its self? *Patricia*

It depends on what kind of GloFish you have. GloFish used to just be Danios, but now there are also Tetras that are available in pink. If you have a Danio GloFish, they typically prefer to be in schools. They can survive alone, but they tend to get bored. They have a life expectancy of approximately 3 – 5 years. If you have a Tetra GloFish, they tend to do better in schools of 3 or more. They have a life expectancy of approximately 5 – 6 years.

GloFish need the to be the same as most other tropical freshwater fish, between 74 and 78 degrees F. I would recommend that your aquarium water be at this temp range before adding your fish, as it will cause them the least amount of stress.

Hi, I just bought 2 new tetra glofish to add to my aquarium because my pink glofish that survived an ich outbreak a few months ago was alone and getting picked on by my molly.The 2 new ones (purple and green) are very skiddish and the purple one is relentlessly chasing the old pink one who is the biggest of the 3. Is he/she just doing this because he’s new to the tank or will he stop? I thought they were supposed to school together and I’m worried my old fish will get stressed out. Thanks!

Your surviving Glofish from before already had its territory established. It is showing dominance over the new fish, to show it is the boss. My suggestion would be to rearrange the decorations and plants in your aquarium so that they are set up nothing like they currently are if possible. That should help settle things down a bit. Eventually they should settle in on their own, but it does take some time. That type of tetra can be a little rough from time to time just by nature.

I didn’t think it had to do with the old glofish’s dominance because he was being passive and it was the new glofish that is being aggressive. Thank you for the suggestion, I will rearrange the tank to break up old territories.

I have 2 tetras full size, just bought a green tetra little smaller size but for sure tetra, but he is nipping and chasing on the 2 older ones, our friend had the same problem they had 5 tetra and they all died as the green one killed them all, I have done some research and found that the neon green tetras commonly aggressive towards the tetras no matter how many are in tank, I have a 5gal tank btw, with 3 tetras and 2 snails(green one attacks only the 2 bigger tetra)

Hello Ellen, thanks for commenting. Your problem has nothing to do with the particular color of tetra, it has to do with the fact that your aquarium is too small. The glofish zebra danios are fine to keep in a 5 gallon aquarium, but the glofish tetras are all going to be semi aggressive and territorial. There will always be one dominant fish among the tetras, and in an aquarium which is large enough the non dominant fish have room to retreat to other places but in a 5 gallon aquarium the dominant tetra considers the entire space as his territory which gives the other tetras nowhere to run. I would suggest to you that you do not keep the Glofish Tetras in a small aquarium like that, and keep them in a larger and appropriately set up aquarium instead. Stick with the zebra danio type glofish in the little aquarium.

Hello, I recently invested in a 45 gallon fish tank and have been doing a decent amount of research on setting it up, to find which fish are compatible with which. I’ve read on multiple websites that it’s recommend that new fish be quarantined in a separate tank before introducing them to the rest of the fish. I was wondering if all the fish are bought at the same time, so that none would already have territorial qualities – would they all be safe and such? I haven’t bought any yet, as I still need to buy the right filter & heater, but I plan on getting Neon Tetras, Glass Bloodfin Tetras, GloDanio & Tetra, Galaxy Rasbora, Sparkling Gourami, Gold Dust Mollies, Angelfish,Tiger-Banded Peckoltia, and Amano Dwarf Shrimp. Is that too much variety? Most of them are Tetras and I’m still working on my research but I do believe most, if not all, of these require the same temperatures, and water conditions.

QUarantining fish is recommended because it makes it easier to observe the behavior of your new arrivals, make sure they are eating properly, and if you end up with any injuries or illness during the quarantine period it is much less expensive and easier to treat them in a smaller quarantine aquarium. With your new fish tank, you won’t want to add all of your fish at one time right off the bat, you’ll end up likely running into quite a few fatalities that way. You’ll want to add fish in two or three smaller batches, which will make it easier for you to quarantine them in a smaller aquarium as well. As far as compatibility, the fish you list should be ok together. The one thing to consider is the possibility of the angelfish eating the Amano shrimp when the angels get a little larger.

Recent Comments

Social Accounts

About Us

PetSolutions first started online in 1996 and was built on the same strong principles of value and customer service that we have believed in since beginning in the pet industry back in 1950.

Our business is based in Beavercreek, Ohio, where we operate from our 100,000+ square foot distribution center, fish holding facility and office areas. We are large enough to provide incredibly fast shipping and great prices, yet we are small enough to give a very personal touch to your shopping experience.